Real Faith.

Seeing is believing-- the common phrase a majority of humans abide by.  Sure we say we have faith that we will have a successful future or things will turn out for good, but when do we start to believe...before or after we begin to see results?

I was pondering this concept:  Do I really live by faith or only by what I see?

I'll be the first to admit that it is more easy to be hopeful when things are going right.  No problems, no confusion, no stress.  But hope and faith are two different things.  Hope is a feeling, and simply that.  Yes, it is important...so important.  Being down in the dumps will do nothing good for you.  But if hope is the only thing you have going for you, I guarantee disappointment will be right around the corner.  Hope cannot stand alone. 

Faith is an action; it requires work.  We need not forget that hope is in fact necessary to have faith, for faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1).  But to me, faith means acting as if what I believe or am hoping for has already come to pass.  If I really believe something, I'll act like it.  All the blessings and promises that have been given to me are already mine, I just need to claim them.  Sure, knowing that they are there and available to me is comforting, but until I choose to draw on my faith and own them, they are nothing.  Faith without works is dead.

If I truly believe that my future is secure, if I truly believe that I have been called for His specific purpose and service, and if I truly believe that I am His child, I should act like it.  No doubt, no worry, no fear.  Boom.  It is impossible to please God without having faith (Hebrews 11: 6), and I cannot fulfill the will of God without faith.  Giddy up. 

"For we live by faith, not by sight."

- 2 Corinthians 5:7